The use of instruments in obtaining accurate long term water level data is difficult and expensive. Some of the methods in the prior art which have been used to date with limitations to their utility and cost efficiency are submersible pressure transducers, which tend to drift over a period of time, and float operated water level recorders which are limited in their utility by their requirement of a fairly large diameter and plumb well--i.e. with a diameter greater than fifteen centimeters. A crooked well will cause such a float to adhere to the well casing and result in poor water level recordings. Water level monitoring wells of 5 and 12 centimeter diameters are becoming standard in the industry and, as such, the float operated water level recorders are limited in their utility to this extent as well.
The present invention deals with a float system to be used to obtain such water level monitoring data, representing an improvement over the current art in a number of ways, including
A) the shape and small surface of the float employed, as well as improvements in the placement of the float within the well, minimizes the friction and capillary attraction forces; PA1 B) a low center of gravity, with more than eighty percent of the float being submerged, provides stable flotations; PA1 C) the design assures adequate pushing and pulling; and PA1 D) when used in conjunction with a shaft encoder, the device is capable of supplying accurate long-term water level data from water level monitoring wells as small as five centimeters in diameter.